Calls Grow for Rep. Jeff Dotseth’s Expulsion After News of a 2008 Domestic Violence Arrest Surfaces

(KNSI) — Following the bombshell report showing Republican Representative Jeff Dotseth (R-11A Kettle River) was arrested in 2008 for domestic violence and child abuse, calls are growing for him to be expelled from the House and to suspend his reelection campaign.

Allegations in court documents say from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, he would regularly choke his wife, throw her to the ground, and kick her. Her son tried to intervene and said Dotseth also punched him and beat him.

Dotseth denied the allegations, which he called “hurtful,” and said his wife also had violent tendencies, screaming and slapping him and pulling his hair.

Initially charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and received a sentence of 90 days in jail, stayed for a year, provided he remain law abiding.

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin released a statement saying the violence outlined in court affidavits “is disqualifying for elected office – and so is Jeff Dotseth’s decision to hide this from the public.” He added that anyone who has engaged in a pattern of domestic violence, child abuse, and threats of murder has no business writing laws that govern the state.

He also wants answers surrounding what his Republican colleagues knew and when they knew it. Martin says Representative Paul Novotny (R-30B Elk River), a former Sherburne County Sheriff, was one of the responding officers to a 911 call at the couple’s home. “It is outrageous that Minnesota Republicans chose to hide this information from the public in 2022 when Dotseth was running for the Legislature,” Martin added.

Martin and DFL House Majority Leader Jamie Long (D-Minneapolis 61B) plan to call on House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-13A Cold Spring) to expel Dotseth from the Minnesota House GOP caucus. They will also call on Dotseth to suspend his campaign and answer questions about his years of what they call violent and unhinged behavior.

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